Alicia Alvrez - The Ladies Room Reader Revisited: A Curious Compendium of Fascinating Female Facts

Copyright 2002 by Conari Press

The author gratefully acknowledges permission to reprint from the following works: In Her Footsteps by Annette Madden, Conari Press, 2001, reprinted by permission of Conari Press; Hell's Belles by Seale Ballenger, Conari Press, 1997, reprinted by permission of Conari Press; Drama Queens by Autumn Stephens, Autumn Stephens, 1998, reprinted by permission of Conari Press; 365 Health & Happiness Boosters by M. J. Ryan, Conari Press, 2000; Women Who Love Books Too Much by Brenda Knight, Conari Press, 2000, reprinted by permission of Conari Press.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. For information, contact: Conari Press, 2550 Ninth Street, Suite 101, Berkeley, California 94710-2551.

Conari Press books are distributed by Publishers Group West.

Cover Design: Ame Beanland

Cover & Interior Illustrations: Martha Newton Furman

Book Design and Composition: Ellen Kwan

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Alvrez, Alicia.

The ladies' room reader revisited : a curious compendium of fascinating female facts / Alicia Alvrez.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 1573247715

1. WomenMiscellanea. I. Title.

HQ1233.A68 2002

305.4dc21

2001006177

Printed in the United States of America.

02 03 04 RRD NW 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

W elcome to The Ladies' Room Reader Revisitedmore trivia about one of our favorite subjectsourselves! I had so much fun collecting the first volume, and you, apparently, had so much fun reading it, that the urge to do the second was irresistible.

This time, along with the lowdown on women's bodies, celebrity antics, bedroom pastimes, and all manner of things feminine, we venture into the Ladies' Room itself to reveal the secrets of the most private spot in the house. And don't forget to check out , where I've tucked some of the most fascinating facts I came across. How have you lived so long without knowing, for instance, that January 12 is Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day? Or that July 3 is Stay Out of the Sun Day and Compliment Your Mirror Day? Check it all out. There will be a quiz later.

Alicia Alvrez

A ccording to Longevity magazine, more than 50 percent of married men and women do not consider their spouse their best-ever lover.

After looking at nude photos in Playboy and other men's magazines, both men and women feel their mates are less attractive and report that they feel less in love.

What are the most romantic things you can do? When asked, people's first choice is lying in front of a fireplace, followed by taking a shower together and walking on the beach.

According to another study, 80 percent of us think a vacation is the best way to rekindle romance.

Stories of wedding ceremonies gone awry:

• They had just cut the ceremonial piece of cake when a French bride took the frosting-covered knife and stabbed her spouse.
• A mother of the groom at a wedding in England couldn't hold her tongue when the minister asked if anyone knew any reason the couple should not be wed, shouting that the bride was a tramp who was not good enough for her son. She had to be removed by police.
• A best man stood to the left of the groom, rather than the right, and ended up married to the bride at an Irish wedding in the 1920s. It was only discovered when the priest asked the best man to sign the register and the real groom announced that he thought he was supposed to do it. There had to be a second ceremony.
• The minister tripped over a Bible, falling and gashing his head and breaking his foot at an English wedding in 1996. But he insisted on going on with the ceremony before seeking medical careand so he did, with blood pouring down his face.
• In 1986, a happy couple were about to drive away on their honeymoon when they discovered their car had been stolen.
• Many people have been known to faint during their weddings. But one English bride holds the record for longest swoonit took twenty minutes to revive her.
• Pity poor Mrs. Cullen of Arkansas. Her husband dropped dead of a heart attack driving away on their honeymoon. Later she discovered that the best man had also had a heart attack that night and died.

In 1797, a bride in Birmingham, England, got married stark naked. No, she wasn't a confirmed nudist. She did it because there was a belief at the time that if a woman of means married a man with debts, his creditors would not be able to come after her for the money owed if she married in the nude.

According to Rutgers University National Marriage Project, Americans are less likely than ever to be very happy in their marriages. The percentage of folks who reported being very happy fell from 53.5 percent in the 1970s to 37.8 percent in 1996.

Can baseball save your marriage? McCall's (now Rosie) reported that the divorce rate is 23 percent lower in cities with major league baseball teams than in those without.

How about higher education? Statisticians inform us that women who complete sixteen or more years of school are less likely to divorce their first husbands.

Scientists claim that male joggers speed up when running past a woman who is facing their direction, but not if she is facing away. This is done unconsciously, of course, but happens whether the woman is paying them any attention or not.

• Ruth and Kevin Kember married when she was ninety-three and he was twenty-eight.
• Samuel Bukoro, age one hundred, married Nymihanda, age twelve.
• Model Anna Nichol Smith was twenty-six when she wed millionaire Howard Marshall, age eighty-nine. He died shortly thereafter, and the will leaving her his fortune continues to be contested by his children from a previous marriage.

Octavio Gullen and Adriana Martinez were engaged for sixty-seven years before they finally tied the knot.

When people ask me how we've lived past a hundred, I say, Honey, we were never married. We never had husbands to worry us to death.'

Bessie Delany, on why she and her sister lived so long

Scientists tell us that because of hormones, we are at our sexual peaks in the morning. Nature planned it that way so the caveman would plant his seed before he went out in search of food in case he didn't come back.

King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, but that's not the world's record. The record for the most married person in history goes to Mongkut of Siam, the king made famous by the The King and I. He had 9,000 wives and concubines.

When checking into a hotel for a little hanky panky with a person not your spouse, what is the name most used to sign the register? Why Smith , of course.

British women told pollsters that they would rather give up having sex than having to abstain from chocolate.

Looking for someone of the opposite sex? Women should go to Alaska, where the largest concentration of men are, and men should move to Washington, D.C., where women outnumber men the most.

• Gettin' married is a lot like getting into a tub of hot water. After you get used to it, it ain't so hot.Minnie Pearl
• I've only slept with men I've been married to. How many women can make that claim?